Review Detail

The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter
ARC received from Harlequin Teen
Release Date: 2-26-2013
Reviewed by: Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say: Traumatic, Tempting and Thrilling

(If you have NOT read the first two in this series, do not read the review, as it contains spoilers from the first 2 books).

The end is near, the war has come
And all are caught beneath Cronus’s thumb
The Council fights back, but is it in vain?
Will they fall under Calliope’s reign?

Or will love manage to beat back the dark
To light a beacon, to create a spark?
Til the end they will fight, both Henry and Kate
Will they live or die? What is their fate?

Reading the last book in a trilogy that you’ve enjoyed always brings forth all sorts of emotions—happiness because there is no more waiting, no more cliffhangers; and sadness because you will miss those characters that you’ve known for the past few years. I had put off reading this one for a few weeks because I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye. This was my first Hades/Persephone retelling, and I’ve always been partial to it because it introduced me to something new and different than what you learn in school. It made it personal and real, even though it was in the paranormal genre. It made a connection, and for that, I will always love this series.

This one starts 9 months after Goddess Interrupted left off, and it jumps straight into the heartbreak and action. I liked that we didn’t have to read about the 9 months of Kate’s imprisonment and the pregnancy because I just don’t know if I would have been able to watch her go through that much pain and suffering. Still, prepare yourself for some heartache!

This final book didn’t lack in the action. There was constantly a battle raging, whether it was internal or external. I didn’t find in lulls in the plot or anything that made me want to rush through, which is great because I hate it when books add too many details. It was actually shorter than I expected (the ARC was only 300 pages), and I’m thinking some things were added to the final copy because it ended up 380ish pages.

My favorite part of this book, of course, is Henry (Hades). I like thinking about him the way that Aimee Carter writes him—broody yet loving, hard yet caring. Add that to his dark power and he is by far the most interesting god in my opinion. He has dominion over the dead, so there is something heartbreaking and poetic about his views on life. It begins and it ends—that’s the way life is, and I really love how Henry is so poised in the face of death. Power drips off him in waves, and he is one of the most powerful of the Olympians, yet that power hasn’t corrupted him like it did Walter (Zeus). He was much more open in his feelings in this one, which is great, because he did get a bit annoying at times in the first two books when he wouldn’t just say how he felt. That insecure Henry is gone, replaced by a loving and revenge-bent greek god.

Kate is much stronger in this book, although she still has that annoying think before you act habit that makes me want to knock her upside the head. James (Hermes) even mentions it multiple times---her martyr complex he calls it. She really bugs me how she doesn’t open up to her family for help. Instead, she concocts a plan and runs straight into it without thinking about the consequences, which is infuriating!! So if you were one of those readers that got annoyed with Kate before, just know it’s not going to go away in this one.

Loss, love, hate, and revenge all collide in this final book causing a cacophony of emotions to swell up and pour out. This was a fitting (albeit sad) ending to such a great story, and I will definitely miss these characters. But as Henry says, “the time has come to fight,” and fight they will.